Five Up, Five Down: Time to buy Virginia stock...again
— -- It has been a roller coaster of a season for Tony Bennett and the Virginia Cavaliers.
First there was the loss in the second game of the season to George Washington. Then came 11 consecutive victories, a streak that included back-to-back wins against a highly ranked Villanova team and a talented Cal squad, both in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Everyone was back on the bandwagon. Sure, this Cavs team wasn't the same on the defensive end as its recent predecessors (it's still pretty darn good, though) -- but it looked more powerful offensively.
Just as everyone was starting to promote UVa as a national title contender, then came the loss in Blacksburg, Virginia, to a then-middling Virginia Tech team. A setback at Georgia Tech followed, and then eight days later, the Cavs dropped their third of four games, in Tallahassee, Florida, against Leonard Hamilton's Florida State team.
Everyone wanted to know what the heck was wrong with Virginia.
But Bennett is one of the elite coaches in the country. This is a guy who has won two consecutive ACC regular-season titles in a league that features four Hall of Famers: Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Rick Pitino and Jim Boeheim.
Bennett also has a veteran backcourt in Malcolm Brogdon and London Perrantes.
Sure, there was some luck involved in the remarkable come-from-behind road win at Wake Forest in which Darius Thompson banked in a 3 at the buzzer for the win. But then came a resounding pummeling of Louisville on Saturday in which the Cavs held Pitino's team to just 33 percent shooting to the tune of 47 points.
Virginia is now 17-4 overall and 6-3 in ACC play. That puts the Cavs three games behind 8-0 North Carolina, which means they likely won't make it three straight ACC crowns.
But it also means this Virginia team shouldn't be excluded from the group of teams that have a chance to win six straight in the NCAA tournament and cut down the nets in April.
The Rest of Five Up
Utah Utes: It looked a little bleak there for a minute when Larry Krystkowiak's squad dropped three of four -- including a brutal Bay Area trip to Stanford and Cal. But the Utes have reeled off five straight, a run that includes a sweep of the Washington schools on the road and revenge wins over Stanford and Cal at home. Sophomore big man Jakob Poeltl has been terrific pretty much all season, and he delivered again this past week with 23 points and seven boards against Stanford and 21 points and nine boards in the win over Cal. But it has been far from a one-man show as guys like Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Taylor, Lorenzo Bonam and Dakarai Tucker have all been productive.
San Diego State Aztecs: Someone has to win the Mountain West, and even after a lackluster start -- which included losses to Arkansas-Little Rock, San Diego and Grand Canyon -- the Aztecs remain the cream of the crop in the league. Steve Fisher's crew sits atop the league at 9-0 after a road win at UNLV over the weekend. San Diego State is doing it again with its trademark defense. The Aztecs held the Runnin' Rebels to 52 points. Their past three opponents are a combined 17-of-72 from beyond the arc.
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse: The Orange looked dead a month ago while their Hall of Fame coach was serving his nine-game suspension. Syracuse was 4-5 in his absence but is 5-2 since Boeheim returned to the sidelines. That includes a road win at Duke and victories this past week against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech at home. The Orange are 15-8 and 5-5 in the league. Syracuse has put itself in position to get an NCAA tourney bid.
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky: I know some say he's too small. Others maintain he doesn't shoot it well enough, and there are those who claim he can't finish around the basket. Well, I'll take him on my team any day. The Chicago native scored 26 points and had eight assists in arguably the toughest venue in the country and nearly led UK to a win over the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday night. Ulis is averaging 21.6 points over his past five games and has 34 assists compared to just 10 turnovers over that span.
Five Down
Louisville Cardinals: Listen, I don't think the Cards stink by any means. I just think they didn't beat enough quality teams to merit a top-15 ranking. The losses are of the quality variety: at Michigan State, at Kentucky, at Clemson. But where are the résumé-building wins? The best one is likely a road victory against an NIT-bound (if it's lucky) NC State squad.
Boise State Broncos: Is it too late to change my preseason coach of the year selection from BSU's Leon Rice to, say, Iowa's Fran McCaffery or Xavier's Chris Mack? I still think Rice has done a heck of a job in his time at Boise, but this past week was not his best. The Broncos went 0-2 with a loss at UNLV and then at home against New Mexico. The defense was subpar, allowing 87 and 88 points -- and allowing New Mexico to shoot 56 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep. Now it appears as though Boise (15-7, 6-3 in the Mountain West) might have to win the league tourney to get an NCAA bid.
Oregon State Beavers: It wasn't that long ago that Oregon State was considered a threat for one of the top spots in the Pac-12. Wayne Tinkle's team was 10-2 after a Jan. 3 victory in Corvallis, Oregon, against in-state rival Oregon. However, the Beavers have lost five of their past six, and the defense killed them on the Arizona trip this past week. Gary Payton II also struggled in the losses to Arizona and ASU.
Massachusetts Minutemen: OK, we knew it would be a rebuilding season in Amherst, Massachusetts. But did anyone see this coming? The Minutemen have lost seven straight and are now 8-12 overall and 1-7 in the A-10 -- which puts them in a tie with La Salle and George Mason for last place. The last setback came at home against Fordham, and the lone league win came against La Salle.
St. John's, Rutgers, Minnesota and Boston College: These teams are all winless in the power leagues. I'll give Chris Mullin a mulligan since it's his first season at St. John's and he inherited a thin roster. Jim Christian also inherited a tough situation at Boston College and is in only his second year. Eddie Jordan needs to show improvement soon at Rutgers, and Richard Pitino's Gophers were expected to be down but not this bad. Will any of them get a league victory?